Imran Khan: From cricket star to political kingmaker?

He is a new breed of politician, coming from outside feudal, industrial elites and attracting the urban middle class.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Imran Khan, Pakistan’s cricket hero turned politician, failed to reach the tribal badlands on a much-hyped march but did succeed in lighting up the political stage once more.

He led thousands of supporters on a long drive from the capital to the edge of South Waziristan in a two-day protest against US drone strikes that, while stopping short of his destination, cemented his celebrity status.

It was an unprecedented gesture from a mainstream politician in one of the most dangerous parts of the country, a semi-autonomous zone that is a hotbed of activity by Taliban and al Qaeda militants.

Khan has been a growing political force for the past year, his anti-corruption message and calls for peace attracting huge crowds in Pakistan’s biggest cities of Karachi and Lahore.

He is a new breed of politician, coming from outside the feudal and industrial elites and attracting the urban middle class, but analysts say that despite headline-grabbing rallies such as the weekend event he has little chance of becoming prime minister in elections due next year.

The point of Khan’s driving through the arid countryside of Punjab, then Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to the edge of the tribal areas was to protest against US drone strikes targeting the militants, which taps into widespread anti-US sentiment.

But to all intents and purposes, it had the feel of an election campaign for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) or Movement for Justice party.

Posters featuring local PTI politicians vastly outnumbered anti-drone banners, and chants -- some offensive -- against President Asif Ali Zardari proved more popular than those decrying US military intervention.

Crowds turned out in their thousands as the convoy festooned with the green and red flags of Khan’s party snaked through crumbling mudbrick villages and ramshackle towns.

Supporters cheered, beat drums and showered the convoy with rose petals, while pro-PTI graffiti – looking conspicuously fresh – adorned countless walls along the 430-kilometre (270-mile) route.

Security fears meant the march did not reach the planned destination deep in South Waziristan, and turnout at the final rally in the town of Tank was nowhere near the 100,000 predicted by PTI officials.

But Khan insisted it was still a success and analysts said the blanket media coverage in the foreign and local press would do him good.

“These types of initiative are undertaken because you want to highlight an issue, you want to be in the news, so for several days this was a very major issue in Pakistani politics, in the media,” political analyst Rahimullah Yusufzai told AFP.